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Pop singer, Jamie Jones made waves when she released her first single, “Whatever.” More of a shout of confidence than a sociopolitical statement, the song is only a glimpse into the energetic young singer’s talent. With her new album, Celebrity Music, in stores now, she took some time out to speak with ro about her controversial new song and the current state of pop music. –jh
Why’d you name your first single, ‘Whatever’
When I first started with my management team I was doing songs that everybody wanted me to do or I was doing songs that they thought would work best for me. Me and my best friend got together and we were like, ‘You know what? Let’s write our own song.’ We wrote the song together but I think it just explains me perfectly. It was kind of like, look I’m going to do things my way, because I have a message and I want to spread the message.
What was the main message you were trying to convey?
Well, bullying and peer pressure is pretty prominent in schools right now and I just wanted to address that. … Low self-esteem for girls I think is an issue and the pressure in school really can get down on us students … it really sucks, so I was just trying to [say embrace] who you are and … [love] yourself no matter what people say about you.
What did your parents say the first time they heard ‘Whatever’?
My mom just laughed because honestly she’s the one that used it because in the family my dog was a mutt and she was adopted and I don’t really know who my father is so it just went into this history of trying to understand where I fit in. But my mom was like well, ‘I know I’m black and I’m white, so I guess I’m just a mutt.’ Growing up I was like, um, well if my mom’s a mutt I guess I’m a mutt, too. I think a lot of people think well why would you call yourself that? I’m a mutt. I’m filled with so many different things that [it] doesn’t make me less special or more special [it] just makes me who I am and people can like it or hate it.
Are multicultural people bullied?
I think so, and not only people who are multicultural but just anyone that is different, something people can’t pinpoint. It just becomes ignorant sometimes.
